The Keys To The Kingdom 1 At Heaven’s Gate
by Loopylou
Summary: She needed noone in her life anymore. Not incapable of love, just too frozen to thaw.


At Heaven's Gate  
  
The dress was black, with thin straps and a plunging neckline that showed her navel. The bottom just swept the ground as she stood looking at herself in the full length mirror. Her skin was pale and made a nice contrast to the darkness of the dress. Her short black hair had been brushed until it gleamed in the candlelight. She had no make-up on at all, but that didn't matter. Her lashes were already dark and thick, her lips coloured naturally. She stepped away from the gilded mirror, slipping black knee length boots on. The fabric of the dress made a soft sound as she moved around the small room. Just before she left the room, she turned and smiled at the image in the mirror, showing needle sharp fangs and blue eyes so bright they nearly glowed. She absently ran a hand over her still flat stomach as she locked the door.  
  
Outside her room, the motel was shabby and in dire need of redecorating. It had a pungent musty smell that houses got when they had been closed up too long. It suited her needs perfectly. She had found it one hot summer dawn when she needed a place to escape the sun. The heels on her boots made no noise as she walked along the dimly lit hallway and into the elevator. It started to descend as soon as she pressed the ground floor button, creaking perilously as it moved. When the elevator reached the floor with a heavy thud, she waited until the doors had parted enough for her slim body to slip out. The lobby of the motel was as shabby as the rest of it, with faded wallpaper that was peeling from the wall in places.  
  
The floor tiles had once been grand, but too much time without proper care had stolen them of grandness. The lobby was nearly deserted, just like the rest of the motel. The only other person in sight was a stooped old man dressed in a smart suit that seemed to swamp his slight body. She smiled at him as she crossed the cracked tile floor and stepped into the rain swept night. The dark clouds hung low and heavy over the city, reflecting the lights in a show of colours.  
  
Her car- a dark blue Ford Mustang Shelby was waiting for her outside the door. She opened the door and slipped inside the car, starting the engine almost before she had the door shut. The car was not as it seemed. The glass in the windows alone had cost enough to buy a large house in the best part of town. It had been made to block all UV rays. The car's bodywork was bulletproof, and the engine had been played with, giving her much more power- almost twice as much. She had designed it and paid for it with her own money. It was the only thing that had kept them alive the two years they'd been on the run.  
  
They- her and Michael- had laid low for most of the time, but she had decided that it was time she was back in the game. He had argued and tried to stop her, of course, but in the end she had won. She always would, because that was her nature. She had decided that her first move would be to gather information on the state of the war and it's key players. She needed to know who was winning- and why. She had another life to protect now. She pushed the thoughts away and concentrated on driving the car safely. The roads in the city were well kept, but the heavy rain was making them slick under the cars tires. Her journey took her less than twenty-five minutes. She stopped the car in front of a large, impressive house. His house, where she'd left him only weeks ago.  
  
She took a deep breath and opened the car door, stepping out under an umbrella that a well dressed young man had immediately brought over. She flashed him a smile and walked up the dark path to the house. There was no turning back now. She raised her hand to knock on the thick wooden door, but it opened before she could touch the wood.  
  
"Hello, Michael." She said in a soft, low voice.  
  
"Selene." The single word robbed her on any hope that this would be easy. It was packed with dislike, and worse, indifference. His hate she could handle, but this cold, closed person in front of her was another matter entirely. The only man she had let get close to her stood mere inches from her, but he was unreachable.  
  
How had they drifted so far apart? She knew she didn't love him. Love was not the reason she had changed him. Fear was. Fear that she would never find out the truth about Viktor, about the spark that had started a thousand years' bloodshed. She had sunk her teeth into his neck to save the information he carried, not the man. When she had done what he could not and slain Viktor, something inside of her had changed- and not for the better. But, when the fight was over and they stood together in the bloodstained water, he had looked at her and she had fallen.  
  
The man who's life she had saved twice that night now stood in front of her. She wanted to reach him, but she didn't know how. As if sensing her hesitation, he smiled and stepped away from the door.  
  
"Come in.," The two words were said in the same tone. She did as he bid and stepped through the door into an elegantly furnished hall. Something about it reminded her of her own home, and she faltered on the threshold. All at once, she was lost in memories....  
  
She was almost 16 years old, tall and dark haired. Her skin was lightly tanned from the summer sun and her eyes were alive with life. Her mare had just given birth to a fine foal. Her older sister's twins- aged only 3- had found the cute little animal irresistible and she had been tasked with keeping them from bothering the mother and baby too much. She was standing in the house's long, narrow hall when one of the girls came running towards her. Her tiny hands were held out and she was smiling and giggling as she ran towards the teenager, who picked her up and held her close.  
  
As abruptly as it had come, the vivid flashback faded. Selene found herself leaning against a warm, breathing chest. Her breath came in short, rapid pants and she could feel cold wetness on her face that could only be tears. Composing herself, she pushed away from the stunned man she had once tried- and failed- to love. He let her go, watching silently as she tidied her hair and dress. He was desperate to know what she had just seen, but knew better than to ask. He would find out when she was ready or not at all.  
  
The atmosphere in the hallway was uncomfortable, and he was glad of the chance to break it. He pointed to another doorway, and simply said, " Go on in."  
  
"Thank you." He knew she wasn't referring to the room, and just nodded. The room was larger than she had expected. Heavy dark red velvet curtains hung at the windows, blocking the sun. It was a room she felt at home in, and the feeling gave her back a little peace.  
  
Both knew that there was still a long way to go if they ever wanted to be friends, but his simple act of reaching out to her had helped more than he would ever know. It gave her back a tiny spark of hope that she thought she had lost. She knew that she could never love him- she could never love anyone. Her emotions had been closed for that long that they could never be reopened. She had accepted that. Now, she would learn if he would. Two simple words would either shatter their world completely or transform it into something else entirely.  
  
She waited until he sat next to her on the worn couch. Her lips moved and spoke the words "I'm pregnant." They had come together for one brief hour, like ships passing in the night. He's needed to feel- she had nothing but her body to give.  
  
His appalled reaction told her all she needed to know. Without looking back, she rose and left the room; left any chance that she might have had at a normal life. The spark of hope he had ignited lost any chance it might have had to bloom. She didn't know what the child would be like, but she would protect it with everything she had. It was all she could do. She had nothing else left to give but her protection.  
  
She didn't care. She needed no-one in her life anymore. Not incapable of love, just too frozen to thaw. And that was how she planned to stay.  
  
FINS 


End file.
